Josephine McLaughlin
American screenwriter (1894–1977)
Josephine McLaughlin (July 8, 1889 – August 24, 1977) was a screenwriter who wrote 56 scripts for films between 1920 and 1947. All but one of her 40 silent films are lost, but most of her 20 or so sound films still exist. Bradley King was a pen name she used.
Biography
McLaughlin was born in New York city, possibly on July 8, and most probably in 1889. Other sources give her birth date as 1894, but she was listed as age 16 in the 1905 census, and Dettwyler confirms her birth date with other extant records. She was educated at the Academy of the Sacred Heart (later Kenwood) in Albany, New York.
McLaughlin recalled that she entered the business after selling a few short stories to pulp magazines and arranged a meeting with silent era filmmaker Thomas Ince. "I've read some of your stuff and I think your literary style is absolutely lousy," she later recounted Ince saying. "But you've got a good sense of drama, and I'll give you $50 a week." Five years later, she was making $1,500 a week.
She was married four times.
The public source identifies “Josephine McLaughlin” as american screenwriter (1894–1977). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Josephine, McLaughlin and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Josephine McLaughlin”, the useful work is to connect “american screenwriter (1894–1977)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4954967. VIAF identifies the subject as 231681255. The Library of Congress control number is no91004142. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1889, 1977, 1920 and 1947.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Josephine McLaughlin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Josephine McLaughlin primary sources, Josephine McLaughlin archive and Josephine research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Josephine McLaughlin”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Josephine McLaughlin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.